Twenty Questions for Nichiren Shoshu and Soka Gakkai members

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There are 20 separate questions in this post, some contain multiple questions. It should be very easy for you to get ALL the answers...the chief and assistant priests at Myohoji  or the SGI Study Department will surely be happy to help you, Reverand Iwaki was always happy to help me when I asked him questions, no matter how many. Same with Greg Martin and Danny Nagashima. You see, they were eager to convert people to Nichiren Shoshu and the Soka Gakkai. By taking on the task of answering these questions, if you answer them ALL for us, surely there will be many converts to the Nichiren Shoshu or Soka Gakkai very soon! (remember, there are many "lurkers" here and all are ready to hear your answers and be converted to the "True Buddhism!") Wow, you are getting a chance to shakubuku SO many people! Nichiren Shoshu and Soka Gakkai will be so happy!

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jqpub...@netnitco.net (Craig Bratcher) wrote:

In September 1282, Nichiren Daishonin transferred the totality of his teachings and the Law to Nikko Shonin, the sole legitimate successor whom he had designated. The transfer document is known as the Minobu Transfer Document, because it was written at Minobu. Minobu Transfer Document (Document for Entrusting the Law Which Nichiren Propagated throughout His Life):

"I, Nichiren, will transfer all of the teachings I have propagated throughout my life to Byakuren Ajari Nikko, who should be the great leader for propagating True Buddhism. When a sovereign accepts this Law, the High Sanctuary of Honmon-ji (Temple of True Buddhism) should be erected at the foot of Mount Fuji. Simply wait for the proper time to come. This is the actual High Sanctuary of True Buddhism. Above all, my disciples should observe this document."

Questioner: this is actually the first time i've ever read these "transfer documents," thanks for posting them. here are my questions:

Q: I've never seen Nichiren use the words "True Buddhism" in his writings, why did he use these words in a "transfer document?"

Q: Why would Nichiren designate the base of Mt. Fuji as a special place, when Minobu held such special significance for him? I base this question on the following writings written on Minobu:

"I received the One Great and Secret Truth from Buddha Shakyamuni on the Vulture Peak. I keep this truth in my heart. Therefore my heart is the place where the Buddhas enter profound meditation. The Buddhas turn the wheel of the Dharma on my tongue, manifest themselves in my throat, and attain enlightenment in my mouth. Can this place (Minobu) possibly be inferior to the Pure Land of the Vulture Peak?" (from "Nanjo hyoe shichiro dono gohenji" by Nichiren)

Nichiren also wrote, 

"No matter where I die, please build by grave on Mount Minobu, because that is where I spent nine years reciting the Lotus Sutra to my heart's content. My heart lives forever on Mount Minobu." (from "Hakii-dono" Gosho, by Nichiren)

Q: So, if his grave and his "heart" are forever are on Mt. Minobu, why would Nichiren designate the foot of Mt. Fuji as the place for his "Hommon-ji"?

Q: Nikko established Hommon-ji Temple in Kitayama in 1298, 2 miles away from Taisekiji. according to the above "transfer document," Nichiren stated that a "sovereign" should build Hommon-ji, not Nikko. and Taisekiji was built by a nobleman, not a sovereign, named Nanjo Takimitsu in 1290. Why did Nikko move 2 miles away from the already established temple Taisekiji, and then build Hommon-ji instead of waiting for a sovereign (who accepted the Law) to build it? Nichiren told him, "Simply wait for the proper time to come. This is the actual High Sanctuary of True Buddhism." it doesn't seem that Nikko followed Nichiren's words very well, did he? actually Nikko didn't even build Hommon-ji, it was a *residence built for Nikko* by Nanjo Tokimitsu and Ishikawa Yoshitada (neither sovereigns), and he *remodeled* it into a temple and named it Hommon-ji in 1298, 7 years after he moved away from Taisekiji. wow, Nikko really ignored Nichiren's transfer document, didn't he!

Q: Where is any mention of a Dai-Gohonzon in the above document? Surely he would have remembered to mention it, and want it to be placed in Hommon-ji? Are you saying Nichiren forgot his most sacred Object when he transferred the lineage to Nikko? Why would he forget that, didn't he want Nikko, his "sole successor," to have something as important as the Dai-Gohonzon?

jqpublic: In his writings, Nikko Shonin used such words as "Saint of the Lotus," "the Saint's Image," "the Lord of the Law, Saint," "the Buddha, Saint," "Saint Nichiren" and "the Altar of the Saint" to refer to the Daishonin and the Dai-Gohonzon.

Q: You mean that Nikko never actually referred to the Dai-Gohonzon by name? Why not and which reference do you mean Nikko used to refer to the Dai-Gohonzon, "the Saint's Image" or "the Altar of the Saint?" because a Gohonzon is neither, Nichiren didn't teach these things. how peculiar of Nikko!

jqpublic:"I will transfer Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings of fifty years to Byakuren Ajari Nikko."

Q: But doesn't Nichiren repeatedly state in his numerous writings that the only way to "transfer Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings" to someone is for them to chant Namu Myoho Renge Kyo? That we all inherit the Law directly from the scrolls of the Lotus Sutra by praising its title? Why would Nichiren contradict his own many years of teachings by transferring the Dharma to just one man?

Q: If Nichiren was the "True Buddha," WHY would he be transferring "Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings of fifty years" to Nikko? Wouldn't he want to transfer *only* his own teachings, such as Namu Myoho Renge Kyo and the True Object of Worship, to Nikko? Why would the "True Buddha" transmit the "provisional Buddha's" teachings to his "sole successor?"

Craig [jqpublic:], you stated above:

In September 1282, Nichiren Daishonin transferred the totality of his teachings and the Law to Nikko Shonin, the sole legitimate successor whom he had designated.

Q: But the document you just quoted from didn't say that, it said he transferred *Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings of fifty years* to Nikko! why did Nichiren entrust Nikko with his own teachings in the first document, but then entrust him with Shakyamuni's teachings in the second document? Are you saying that Nichiren wasn't thinking straight, and contradicted himself?

jqpublic: These "Two Transfer Documents" are important items which prove that the entirety of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism was correctly inherited solely by Nikko Shonin.

Q: Nichiren specifically transferred to Nikko *Shakyamuni Buddha's* teachings...why did Nikko not listen to Nichiren? Because if he was entrusted with Shakyamuni's teachings, then he would certainly revere them and follow them to the letter, as Nichiren did; he would not discard Shakyamuni as Nichiren Shoshu and Soka Gakkai have, no?

Q: Why would Nichiren transfer Shakyamuni Buddha's *fifty years of teachings*, when Nichiren wrote over and over again in his Gosho, that the only true teachings of Shakyamuni were expounded in the Lotus Sutra? Do you mean Nichiren entrusted a *provisional Buddha's* *provisional teachings* to Nikko?

jqpublic: Up to the present day, for seven centuries, the pure lineage of true Buddhism has been maintained through the successive high priests of the Head Temple Taiseki-ji, to the current sixty-sixth High priest, Nittatsu Shonin. They have preserved the pure heritage of the Law, just as water from one glass is transferred in its entirety into another.

Q: So there were no breaks in that lineage, not even once? Perhaps you could explain for us how this lineage is transferred from one priest to another, and if that transfer occurred accurately in all instances. thanks.

jqpublic: The Essentials of Nichiren Shoshu (2) reads in part:

"All the doctrines of Nichiren Shoshu are originally included in Nikko Shonin's understanding and inheritance based on faith in the great mandala of Nichiren Daishonin.

Q: "Great mandala?" They didn't say "DaiGohonzon?" this was written by Nichiren Shoshu in 1978, when it was called the "DaiGohonzon." I'm confused, how come Nichiren never mentioned a "Dai-Gohonzon," and whoever wrote the above sentence in 1978 didn't either? surely it was Nichiren's most important teaching, why is Taisekiji ignoring it so?

Q: Does Nichiren Shoshu mean "great mandala" as being ALL Nichiren Gohonzons? In that case, how can one inherit the Law from a Gohonzon that is not inscribed by Nichiren?

jqpublic: Now there are quite a few Nichiren sects whose adherents chant the daimoku. However, with the exception of Nichiren Shoshu, which has passed down Nichiren Daishonin's

Buddhism in complete purity, they have all gone against the "Two Transfer Documents."

Q: Those who chant Namu Myoho Renge Kyo receive the transmission of the Law from *Shakyamuni Buddha* just like he told Nikko to but then again, Nikko didn't heed Nichiren's advice:

"When a sovereign accepts this Law, the High Sanctuary of Honmon-ji (Temple of True Buddhism) should be erected at the foot of Mount Fuji. Simply wait for the proper time to come. This is the actual High Sanctuary of True Buddhism. Above all, my disciples should observe this document.

Q: But Nikko didn't observe Nichiren's words because he remodeled his own residence in Kitayama into Hommon-ji, and didn't wait for a sovereign to do it. Does that make Nikko a slanderer of the Law?

Q: Also, since Hommon-ji was entrusted to Nikko, why does Nichiren Shoshu base itself at Taisekiji, 2 miles away? Don't they know they are basing their religion at a temple built my nobleman Nanjo Tokimitsu, and that Hommon-ji is only 2 miles away?

Q: This is all so confusing, because Nichiren Shoshu claims their lineage is pure and unbroken from Nikko, but Nikko left Taisekiji. So if the lineage was unbroken, wouldn't Nichiren Shoshu be based in Kitayama at Hommon-ji? And if Nichiren Shoshu believes what Nichiren said about "Hommon-ji," don't they feel bad about not following Nichiren's words and instead basing his Buddhism at "Taisekiji?" Why didn't they enshrine the Dai-Gohonzon at Hommon-ji, since Nichiren said Hommon-ji was to be the "actual High Sanctuary of True Buddhism?"

Regarding these two "transfer documents," from "Fire in the Lotus" by Daniel Montgomery:

"In 1488, two centuries after the death of Nichiren, Nikkyo, a priest at Taisekiji-ji, claimed to have discovered two documents written by Nichiren, passing on full authority to Nikko alone. The original documents have disappeared, but 'true copies' are preserved at Taisekiji."

Q: So Nikko "lost" the transfer documents, and they weren't found until 1488? How then, can Taisekiji be absolutely sure they were following Nichiren's wishes to the letter, and not slandering? What happened during those nearly 200 years, what specific guidance did they follow for nearly 200 years? When they found and read these documents, did they find that they had deviated from Nichiren's intentions in any way, and if so, did they correct them?

Craig, you said above:

"These "Two Transfer Documents" are important items which prove that the entirety of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism was correctly inherited solely by Nikko Shonin."

Q: If i was Nikko Shonin, and the sole legitimate successor of Nichiren's teachings, I sure would have made sure the "transfer documents" didn't get lost, I would have protected them. Why did Nikko lose these important documents?

Thanks for taking the time to read all of these important questions. I'm sure you and others in Nichiren Shoshu or Soka Gakkai will be eager to clear up all of these pesky inconsistencies, perhaps you can get your NSS priest to help?